


En Route

by Yoursweatsmellslikecinnamon



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 00:30:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13512990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoursweatsmellslikecinnamon/pseuds/Yoursweatsmellslikecinnamon
Summary: The Bellas are onboard the plane that will take them to their first stop on the USO tour but while the other girls are busy catching up and getting ready for their performances, Beca only has one thing on her mind: Chloe Beale.





	En Route

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for a little one-shot, but once I started writing it grew a bit bigger than I had planned. So consider this part 1 of what I think will be a 2 part story. Please let me know if you’re interested in more!

The minute she got on the USO jet which would take them to Europe, Beca had slumped in her seat, lifted the headphones from around her neck and closed her eyes, hoping the George Michael album she’d recently stolen from her dad’s collection would help her shut out the excited chatter of the girls as they boarded the plane around her. She was the first one to board, and as she closed her eyes she hoped that maybe if she pretended to be asleep by the time they all arrived, they would leave her alone so she could actually get some shut-eye.

She hadn’t been sleeping much since the night she impulsively agreed to come on this tour -and god, she was going to need a lot of energy to keep up with them all. It was all Chloe’s fault; Chloe with her emotional toasts and pleading eyes – anyone else suggesting a spontaneous trip to reunite in Europe with her college singing group would have been given a sarcastic smirk and a “dude, no.” As much as she loved the girls, they all needed to grow up and move on sometime. But all she had to do was meet Chloe’s tear-filled eyes and it was game over - Chloe Beale was her kryptonite.

The absolute sheer exhaustion she felt was due to a combination of things really; worry over what she was going to do about her career when this week was over, stress due to the sudden need to create a bunch of arrangements for 10 girls when she was so out of practice, but mostly just the extra anxiety these things added on top of the shooting waves of something unidentified (Panic? Fear? Desire?) that went through her at night every time the body next to her in bed rolled over, closing the gap between them. It wasn’t Chloe’s fault - she had never been particularly good with personal space and Beca knew what she was signing up for when she first offered to let her stay with them for a couple of weeks. But as only Chloe can do, she worked her way back into their daily lives and a year later, she had simply never left.

The more time they spent living in their tiny studio apartment and sleeping side by side, the stronger Beca’s urge grew to reach out in the night and run her fingers softly through the girl’s fiery hair, or to lazily throw her arm over Chloe’s hip and pull her best friend a little closer, the way Chloe always used to do when they would have group sleepovers in the living room of the Bellas house. It wasn’t that she was scared Chloe couldn’t think of her that way. There were plenty of times in college when she’d hinted to Beca that she would be open to the possibility of something more than friendship. But being uncertain about what she really felt and not wanting to drag the closest friend she had into her muddle of sexual confusion, she had always laughed it off as just ‘Chloe being Chloe’ – it wasn’t until after graduation when they all went their separate ways that she found herself missing the easy touches and long, meaningful looks only Chloe could give.

She had often wondered what would happen if she had reciprocated in those days; curling into the embrace rather than squirming until she found her freedom and, with it, the ability to breathe again. But she never had and now it was too late. In the year she had been living with them, Chloe had had boyfriends, girlfriends, one night stands and all manner of flirtations. It was almost as if she was going out of her way to ensure Beca knew she had moved on from whatever their ‘thing’ was at Barden, so Beca now found herself laying awake every night fighting the urge to reach out and pull her best friend closer.

As much as it would hurt her to ever admit it, a small part of Beca hoped that this trip would also give her a chance to get some space from the all-consuming thoughts of Chloe. Yes, of course she would be around, but she would have all the other Bellas to occupy her and maybe if she wasn’t there in Beca’s bed and Beca’s space all day and night, then the brunette would get a chance to breathe and think and just be. She had given up her best shot at the career she had worked towards for years, and she needed time to regroup and make a plan without the constant distraction that was Chloe Beale: the reminder of yet another missed opportunity.

After only a few minutes of sitting on the plane lost in her thoughts, Beca’s bubble of relative silence was burst as someone bounced into the seat next to hers, still chattering to someone she assumed had boarded at the same time. There was only one person who would be able to put her butt on a seat in such a way that Beca would sense it despite having closed eyes, loud music and even louder thoughts. So much for getting her space.

Sure enough, when she opened her eyes a crack there was Chloe kneeling on the seat, beaming at whoever had taken the seat behind her and gesturing towards something. Well, Beca thought, there goes my chance of getting any sleep.

“Hey Chlo,” she pulled the headphones back to rest on her neck.

“Isn’t this awesome? We get a whole plane to ourselves – this is WAY cooler than the Bellas bus.” She pushes her fist to Beca’s shoulder softly, sensing the mood she’s put herself in.

“Yeah it’s pretty cool.” Beca can’t help smiling a little. Chloe always seems to have that effect on her. When it’s just Beca by herself or late at night, thinking about the girl asleep beside her, the panic and angst start to set in. But as soon as Chloe appears, her presence just lights up the room and Beca can’t help being infected with it – she’s tried.

“Okay ladies, that looks like everyone is here.” Aubrey walks down the aisle, checking the head count off her clipboard. Some things never change, Beca thinks and rolls her eyes at Chloe, who winks in return as she turns to take her seat properly.

“Has everyone got their costumes?” Aubrey calls. “Toothbrush? Deodorant? Clean underwear?”

“Oh SHIT,” comes a loud exclamation from a couple of rows behind them, and Beca and Chloe laugh as their roommate winds up Aubrey in the way only Fat Amy can. After shooting a quick glare at the Australian, Aubrey takes a row to herself near the back, satisfied that they’re good to go.

“Condoms?” Fat Amy sends the girls into fits of laughter before starting them all off in a rendition of B.o.B’s Airplanes as the plane starts to taxi.

Beca groans and sinks down in her seat, leaning her head against the window and lifting her headphones once again. Between the magnetic energy of the redhead beside her and 8 other girls who had a habit of bursting into song every time they were together, this was going to be a long flight.


End file.
